Today, electrical power is frequently required in parts of the World where a reliable supply of electrical power is lacking. For example, electrical power may be temporarily required in connection with relief efforts, or may be more or less permanently required in remote and/or hard to reach locations for, for example, powering telecommunication equipment in a wireless communication network.
Especially in the latter case, the devices needing power should, furthermore, operate reliably over time so as to enable the communication service provider to provide substantially uninterrupted service.
Traditionally, such telecommunication equipment, for example base stations, has been powered using diesel generators. This approach is, however, neither cost-efficient nor environmentally friendly, since a substantial amount of fuel is consumed and, consequently, green house gases are emitted into the atmosphere. Moreover, fuel must regularly be transported to the, frequently quite inaccessible, base station locations.
Attempts have been made to reduce the cost of operating remotely located base stations by providing them with wind and/or solar power in addition to the diesel generator. Such system are, however, not in widespread use due to the relatively high investment cost and often continued need for frequent fuel transports, which may be at least partly attributed to a lack of a sufficiently sophisticated control system for the power supply.